


humans die, did you know?

by rubber glue (Ssabishii)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Clueless Allura, F/M, Fluff, Lance has a cold/fever, Lot's of death talk, Making Out, One Shot, Sickfic?? not really, idk i just love this ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 17:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12822909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ssabishii/pseuds/rubber%20glue
Summary: When Lance gets sick, Allura is suddenly questioning humans and just how stable their bodies are. How much time will she have until the time runs out and she's... alone?Alternatively, Allura wants to make the moments matter now that she knows they have a set number of days. She starts with approaching Lance, honestly this time.





	humans die, did you know?

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyyy i wrote this while grocery shopping, the line at self checkout was OBSCENELY long so i was like "eff this lets get my allurance on" lmao i just rlly love this ship and i hope i can write about them more. also i just wanted to explore how different alteans and humans really are so ;P

All things considered, Allura doesn't know much about humans.

 

When Lance doesn't come to breakfast, she's admittedly a bit frazzled. The enthusiastic Paladin was usually of the first to the kitchen, always so eager to talk to everyone, though on occasions was found the last to enter the room if he had gotten too much ‘beauty sleep’. It's still strange to her that the creatures that are human have so many menial and unusual metaphors, their language so mangled through slang and pop culture that she can end up completely lost in a conversation with Lance.

 

She looks down into her mug, which is empty, remnants of purple lingering in a stain stain. “Where is Lance?” She mutters more to herself than anyone, slightly startled when she receives a response in the form of Pidge lightly nudging her with a sharp elbow.

 

“Dunno, but is that grape soda? I want some.”

 

“Uh. Grape soda.” The princess thinks for a moment. “It is not, but you are welcomed to try some.”

 

“Oh. What's it called, then?” Pidge asks, leaning back on her feet that are tucked under her.

 

Once more drawn to the purple stain in her white mug, Allura breathes a sigh through her nose. “I believe the pronunciation alludes the flexibility of the human tongue.”

 

_ Humans are so different.  _

  
  


Eventually, breakfast crashes to an end and when it does the red Paladin trudges in, wrapped in his duvet with a blushing red nose, breathing sounding clogged up. Coran and Allura exchange a clueless glance at the same time Lance makes the strangest sound, throwing his head forward. Like a small shout.

 

Hunk sputters. “Dude, if you're sick, go back to your room! You're going to infect everyone else.” He wrings his hands nervously. 

 

Instead of responding boisterously as Allura had expected, the drained looking human just nods his head, sniffs his red nose and shuffled out of the kitchen.

 

“I’ll bring you some soup!” The yellow Paladin calls after his friend.

 

“Poor kid.” Shiro says in a fatherly way. “What luck to get sick in space.”

 

“Maybe it's like flying on an airplane where germs are just  _ everywhere  _ and it's impossible not to get sick.” Hunk suggests, beginning to brew his ‘soup’. 

 

“Surely not. Just hole that little shit in his room, we’re sharing oxygen on this ship and I’m not ready to ruin a project from dripping snot on it.”

 

Instead of pitching into the conversation, her and Coran continue to look at each other in borderline shock. Where these humans just full of illness and surprises? Was it some sort of coming of age that Lance was going through? Surely not, he's so young.

 

They commence with their day. But, Allura is… well, she's not sure how to describe this feeling, really.

  
  


As night approaches and the questions are only building, the Altean woman consults her second in command, who proves to be little help.

 

(“Is this normal for humans? What’s actually  _ wrong  _ with him?”

 

“I have no clue, Princess Allura. This lack of explanation is… frustrating, to say the least. I do hope Lance will be okay, though.”

 

“What happens if he isn't?

 

“... We cross that bridge when we come to it. Haha.”)

 

So, she approaches Shiro instead, unsure if she's seeking solace or satisfaction. Allura aims for the latter.

 

“I don't understand why Lance is sick.” She says, staring seriously ahead. They reside in the training deck, where she had found him training leisurely. “I… I don't understand humans. I don't understand what's going on?” She's so unsure, it's slightly humiliating to be in such a state of disarray. She thinks of Lance’s annoyingly confident grin stretching broad across his cheeks, his soulful dark blue eyes and the way he constantly grapples for the approval of others because she notices even if he thinks she doesn't.

 

Shiro looks a bit hysteric as well, hands twisting uncomfortably in front of him, fleshy fingers running over the metallic dips and plates of mechanic ones. “Well, d - do Altean’s get sick? Like, colds, the flu? Where you get congested and your temperature rises?”

 

“No.” Allura responds. “Altean’s do not experience that. The peak of Altean illness is the slipperies, which only occurs in old age. I don't…” she trails off. “Please, explain it. All of it.”

 

“Altean’s… genetically considered, are superior than humans, I guess.”

 

“I know about Altean’s!” She stresses. “I want to know what’s wrong with  _ Lance!” _

 

“C - Calm down, please. He's fine, it's just a simple cold, which is common for humans. Given, I’m not exactly sure how he caught it in  _ space,  _ but he just needs to rest up for a few days.”

 

“But, why did it happen? Lance isn't old at all. He isn't old enough to get sick.”

 

“No, that's not how it works. Not how it works for  _ humans,  _ sorry.” Shiro clears his throats and looks down, looking burdened. “People… sometimes, they just get sick. It ranges from colds to cancer. It all happens without a reason, without a warning. Sometimes, they’re fine after a few days and sometimes it can't be cured and it won't go away ever. Humans… sometimes they die.”

 

She swallows a huge lump in her throat. “Cancer? Humans die from that?”

 

“All the time, back on Earth.” 

 

“Humans…” Allura pauses. Humans are such confusing creatures. They are so much more complex than she pegged them to be, in a way that's entirely wrong. She looks down at her umber hands and delicately clenches them into fists. “they're so fragile.” She finishes softly.

 

“Yeah. It's… It’s sad, when you think about it. Humans die all the time for no reason.” Shiro places a hand on her shoulder. “Lance, he's fine. But, humans are not like Altean’s. Human life is fragile. And each second is a blessing because they could be taken away so easily.”

 

Allura perks up. Time is so precious to humans. There isn't any time to waste. Lance, his ears are hideous and his smile is bright, sometimes he grows frustrated and his cheeks flush red. “Thank you, Shiro.” She says and then speed walks away from him.

 

The Black Paladin stands there, dumbstruck as a flourish of white curls vanishes around a corner. “Uh. Yeah.”

 

Maybe he is sort of the dad of Voltron.

  
  


Lance’s bedroom door flies open at the speed of light and the teen stirs slightly in his fever slumber, hardly raising his head, only to see the princess in all of her slightly ruffled glory.

 

She, on the other hand, sees the red Paladin curled up on his bed. His skin is blushing an apple red, short hair messy and unusually curly, his shirt esque and his entire torso exposed, less than completely filled out. The jut of ribs along his sternum is more discernible than the pulse of his biceps, hip bones peaking out from beneath his pajama bottoms. Allura drinks it all in shamelessly, then watches the way Lance’s features morph from complete confusion to slow recognition to timid embarrassment.

 

“What are you doing in my room?” He says, self consciously grabbing for his pillow, pressing it against his chest (instead of flexing to keep up a front, he's just not feeling up to it). “I - I'm sick.” His voice is nasally and he sniffs hard, wipes his face on his pillow.

 

“Humans are weak!” Allura exclaims in a less than composed way, feeling stuck to the door frame. In her rush to get to the other Paladin’s sleeping quarters, her endlessly long hair had fallen out of its tie and flowed down her shoulders messily. “They get sick for no reason at all, which is ridiculous, and their bodies are absurd!”

 

“Well, gee, thanks for the confidence booster.” Lance replied sarcastically, more lost now than he was before. “But, uh, any particular,” he pauses, makes a grimacing expression and then sneezes and wipes his nose on his pillow again l, “any particular reason you're bringing that up?”

 

Allura takes a step forward, towards him. Nimble fingers clinging to the soft fabric of the pillow, eyes glassy and a darker blue with an expanded pupil, his lips are wet and pink and - and something else, like alluring. “Human’s are weak.” She tries again, taking some more steps, shortening the distance between her and the bed. “They get sick for no reason at all and that's… that’s such  _ rubbish.” _

 

“I thought we established that.” Lance grins impishly.

 

“They also die for no reason.” Allura breathes shakily and that wipes the amusement from his face, replacing it with a look of dejection. “They… die for no reason at all. It doesn't matter if they were defending the universe or if they - they were loved by many. Shiro told me that humans can just get sick and die because humans are so  _ fragile,  _ their bodies just  _ shut down,  _ and no one can stop it from happening.” The Blue Paladin takes a final handful of steps and stands beside the bed, observing him up close now. The fleeting look of uncertainty on his tired face. She kneels down and they're eye level. “You could die.”

 

“You could die.” He frowns. “We risk our lives everyday. Defending the universe and stuff.”

 

“And you could die sitting alone in your room for no reason, not under Zarkon’s hand, not under a blade or a gun, under your humanity.” Allura argues back, clutching his bed sheets. “Altean’s are genetically superior. I will never die without purpose. Neither will Coran. Our years turn slower. I will outlive you.”

 

“Uh. Wow.” Lance wets his lips, a pink tongue across pink lips. “That sure is a concept to wake up to.”

 

“Your time is so precious. I could reject you and reject you and reject you fifty times, but you will die along the lines.” She reaches out and watches him flinch away from her hand. She falters, but ultimately proceeds to cup his cheek. “You could die regretting your ceaseless advances.”

 

Lance coughs weakly. “I'm a little delirious and eighty percent sure this is a dream, but is this by any chance a love confession?” He smiles loosely with a flirtatious waggle of his brows.

 

She climbs onto his bed and straddles his hips, effectively crushing the front of confidence. He squeaks out a startled, “ _ What are you doing?”  _

 

Allura leans down so their faces are hardly an inch apart. “Human time is precious and fleeting. Humans die so quickly. The time.” She blinks owlishly, hands tossing the pillow away from Lance’s chest so she can run her fingers gently over the dips of his ribcage. His back arches and color fills his face, mouth opening with a silent noise. “The time is passing. It's passing with every tic. I don't want you to die as we play this game of cat and mouse, as you advance and I evade every single time. Endearing as it is, I don't know what I would do with myself if it ended… here.”

 

“Oh my god,” Lance says, eyes rolling back when her hand is placed under his jaw, directing his face up, neck exposed, “I’m dying, aren't I? Am I dead?”

 

“Not yet.” Allura whispers, pressing her lips to Lance’s. “And that's the point.” She presses hardly and claims his mouth, hands exploring as he expires and his noises are swallowed up between the passion. His hands remain glued to his sides before, antsy and aware, they settle on her hips. Eventually, they disconnect and she leaves his room as Lance slips off into a contented rest. 

 

Later, when her lips are still kiss swollen, she lays in her own bed, cheeks feeling feverish as the memory replays on repeat in her head.

 

Humans. They die, she didn't really know. And she thinks it's awful that they do. She doesn't know if she could live in a world where people die for no reason at all, random, like someone somewhere is rolling dice to decide who will not live anymore. She knows she’ll outlive Lance and the other humans as well if she's excluding factors like the war they're tangled in. She’ll outlive Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Keith and even Coran, which is a scary thought. She’ll be alone, eventually. With just the memories of the people she loves to keep her company.

 

Humans die, but… they go on knowing that. In a way, that makes humans strong, right? They know they have a set number of days and could drop at any moment, but they just keep going, keep persisting, still waste time flirting with an Altean princess who has a hundred more years than them. Lance. He smiles at her even when she spots venom. Is that time wasted for him?

 

She closes her eyes. She's glad that humans are just that strong in their weakness. 

 

“Humans aren't so strange, then.” Allura says aloud to the darkness. “I mean… how difficult could it be to mate one?”

 

“ _ ALLURA!”  _ An ear piercing voice rings, all too familiar and her ears sag as her eyes open. “ _ PIDGE DOESN’T BELIEVE THAT WE JUST LITERALLY MADE OUT IN MY BE - ACHOO!” _

 

_ “THAT’S BECAUSE YOU'RE LYING, YOU SACK OF SHIT AND YOU’RE GOING TO GET EVERYONE QUIZNAKING SICK!” _

 

_ “LANCE, DID YOU JUST SNEEZE IN THE SOUP? THAT’S DISGUSTING! GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM!” _

 

_ “NO, NOT UNTIL PIDGE BELIEVES ME THAT I’M DATING AN ALIEN SPACE PRINCESS!” _

 

Allura groans into the disrupted peace of her room.

 

"Yes. How difficult."

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! excuse the ending it sucked,,,,, but this is kinda sweet and im happy with that!!


End file.
